Vienna Waits For You
by markaleen
Summary: Elaine overhears Alex crying in his room during their trip to Europe. He's miserable and she is determined to change that.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE- I do NOT own any of the characters or media from Taxi. All rights go to those associated with it. I am not making money from these stories. **

**This is my first Taxi story! Hope it came out all right :) Enjoy! ~markaleen**

* * *

Chapter 1:

Alex and Elaine were traveling Europe together, as friends of course. They had a pact that they weren't obligated to spend time together (except for their daily postcard writing). If one of them had a date they could go off and do as they wish. This sounded much better to Alex when he and Elaine were still in New York. Maybe that was because he thought he'd be able to get a date. It was very hard for him to see Elaine go out every night while he sat lonely and bored at the hotel. He was so thankful to still have his postcard time with Elaine, but lately she had been cutting it short and bringing her dates with her.

When Alex finally did get a date, it didn't work out. She was a French model. She had her heart set on going to a very expensive casino that was way out of Alex's price range. The model left Alex and once again he had to spend another night by himself. He couldn't help but wonder how this happened. This was Europe, supposedly the most romantic place in the world. _It's all one big lie _he thought angrily. Though, Elaine was certainly having the time of her life. Was it him? He knew he wasn't the most stunningly good looking man in the world, but all the women were avoiding him like the plague.

Eventually he just stopped trying. It wasn't worth the heartache. He couldn't wait to go home. Everyday got more and more depressing. He was starting to run out of money, he was having trouble sleeping, and he had completely run out of things to do. He had his Rubik's cube but he got so frustrated with it that he finally just tore off the little color spots and put them where they should be. Thank goodness that in a few days he would be home and things would be back to normal.

Elaine had just gotten back from a date. She was grinning, she had been having the most romantic time the past couple weeks. She started getting ready for bed, thinking of the wonderful time she's had. Then, she heard a weird noise. She listened carefully. It sounded like it was coming from the room next to hers'. _Alex… _she thought. Slowly, she crept up to the door and pressed her ear against it. It almost sounded like he was crying… **was **he crying? Her heart sank. She had known that he hadn't had the best of luck on this trip, but she didn't realize just how bad it was. He sounded miserable. A flush of guilt ran through her. If she hadn't pushed for Alex to come with her he wouldn't be so upset right now. She stood the door for a few minutes contemplating on what she should do. Should she go in there? Or would that make things worse… Should she ignore it? Or would Alex feel more alone… Finally, she decided to go in. She slowly opened the door and peaked in. He seemed to have calmed down. Quietly she pushed the door all the way open and walked in.

She whispered, "Alex?"

He jumped slightly and turned over to look at Elaine. "Elaine, what are you doing here?"

"I… um…" there was a long pause.

"Yes?"

Cautiously she walked towards Alex, "I kind of thought I heard you crying and I wanted to see what was wrong."

Alex turned red. "You heard that?" he asked, shocked.

Elaine shyly nodded.

He quickly turned away, he was humiliated.

Elaine slowly walked over to him and sat down on the bed, "I'm sorry for barging in here. I just couldn't bear to hear you so upset." She waited a moment to see if Alex was going to say something, when he didn't, she continued. "I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed Europe."

Alex turned again to face Elaine, "It's not your fault."

"Of course it is. I begged you to come. I convinced you that you'd have the time of your life. Instead, you're having the worst time of your life…"

"Well I wouldn't say the worst time…"

Elaine half smiled. If only she knew what to do to make things better or him. Before she had the chance to ask him, he told her that he would like to get some sleep. She went back to her room to try and get some sleep herself. Sleep never came though, she kept tossing and turning. She felt so bad and guilty about Alex. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't her fault but she knew it was. Even though she had no control over him finding a date, she was the one who said that this would be the perfect vacation. What was worse was the fact that he even stated that it's been his experience that nothing that sounds so good ever really happens. Apparently he was right.

After a couple hours at attempting to sleep, she had finally had enough. She had to see what she could do to make Alex feel better.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elaine looked at the clock. 3:30 a.m. She knew that she probably shouldn't do what she was about too, but she wanted so badly to help Alex. She opened his door and walked over to him. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She put her hand on his shoulder and gently tried to wake him up. "Alex… Alex…" Alex slowly opened his eyes and wearily said, "Elaine? Is that you?"

Elaine smiled, "Yes, it's me. Can we talk?"

"Can this wait until daylight?" he said as he looked at the clock.

"I'd really like to talk now."

Alex sighed, "alright…" he sat up making room for Elaine to sit down. "What's up?"

Elaine sat down next to Alex and said, "I can't stop thinking about how bad of a time you're having."

Alex was silent for a moment before saying, "you woke me up at nearly four in the morning to tell me that?"

"I guess now that I've said it out loud it seems kind of silly." She laughed nervously. "But I couldn't sleep. I really want to make sure you have one good memory from this trip."

Alex took Elaine's hand. "Elaine, don't you worry about me."

Elaine stood up, "but I am worrying! Alex you are my best friend and I hate seeing you miserable like this! I want to make the rest of our trip the best trip of your life."

"How will you do that?"

"…I don't know." She sighed.

"Because there isn't anything you can do. I mean, what; are you going to flag down women and say 'Hey there, I know a desperate man who would just love to have you for an evening. What do you say?'"

"Yes! I could do that! Only in different- much different words."

"Oh come on Elaine, you're not going to do that!" he stood up and stopped Elaine from pacing the room. "Look, I really appreciate what you're trying to do. But realistically there isn't anything to be done. The world isn't going to end because I had a bad vacation. I'll be fine. And I don't want you to stop enjoying your time him because of me."

Elaine looked at him for a minute thinking of how to respond.

And her response was completely unexpected, both to her and Alex.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex looked at Elaine puzzled. "Uh, wow… I'm not really sure what I should say."

Elaine covered her face with her hands. "Neither do I… I don't know why I just did that."

Actually, Elaine had a pretty good idea about why she just kissed Alex. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd had feelings for him for a while now. Though, she had pretty much wrapped her mind around the fact that they'd never be more than friends. She even decided that being friends would be best and that them as a couple probably wouldn't work out. So she thought until now anyway. She had to think of something to say and explain what just happened. The silence in the room was almost haunting.

"Elaine?" Alex said, startling Elaine from her thoughts.

"Um, yeah. Look Alex, I'm sorry." She headed towards the door, "I guess I was… just caught up in the moment. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sorry I woke you. Goodnight." She rushed out the door slamming it behind her.

"Goodnight..." Alex laid down trying to process everything.

_Elaine woke me at three in the morning… she was determined to find a way to fix everything and make the rest of the trip fantastic for me… and then she kissed me. Why isn't this adding up? There must be something I'm missing._

He decided to sleep on it. Maybe this would all make much more sense when he woke up.

* * *

Elaine went back to bed, though sleep was sure not to come now.

_I cannot believe I just did that. Why? Why did I have to do that? Now the rest of the trip is just going to be awkward, especially tomorrow. How am I going to look him in the eye? I thought I was over this. I thought I had moved on. He's sure to find out now. No, no. He can't. And I couldn't have kissed him because of those dumb feelings. There has to be a reason. Well… it __**is **__late, so my common sense is obviously gone. Maybe it wasn't my feelings, maybe it was just because I hate seeing him so down! Yeah, and kissing him came from me knowing that what he wanted from this trip was a passionate night with a woman! And since so far no other woman has been interested and since he didn't want me setting him up with anyone, I figured I'd be the one!_

She kept trying to think those reasons over and over again as she attempted sleep yet again. But eventually, she knew she had to stop pretending.

_Who am I kidding? I didn't kiss him for his sake… I didn't kiss him to make him feel better... I kissed him because __**I **__wanted too._


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, just as the both expected, was incredibly awkward. Both of them had gone to breakfast early to avoid seeing each other. _Well that wasn't the best idea, _they both thought. It would have been too obvious not to sit together so they sat through what felt like an excruciating long meal. Nothing was said between them other than 'hello'. Frankly, that was fine with both of them. They traveled to their next destination: Rome. Elaine really just wanted to forget the night in Barcelona, so she looked for and found a date almost instantly. On one hand Alex was relieved that Elaine had a date, on the other hand it confused him even more. He could not for the life of him figure out what happened in Barcelona. It had crossed his mind that maybe Elaine had feelings for him, but she seemed pretty happy with her latest date. Unless, she was just trying to hide her feelings by going out with someone. But Elaine wouldn't do something like that. Right?

Wrong.

That's exactly what Elaine was doing. She figured that the best thing for this whole situation with Alex would be to spend the night with the first man she saw. She decided that she wouldn't let herself think about Alex. She did alright the first night, okay with the second, but by the third night, she couldn't take it anymore. She blew off her date and just wandered the streets until she could go back to the hotel. She at least wanted Alex to think that she was out on a date.

* * *

Alex had officially given up with his search for a foreign goddess. There was one woman he saw the first day in Rome, but of course **that **ended badly. He sat alone in the hotel watching TV (which was not much fun considering nearly everything was in Italian), reading travel guides, and still rattling Barcelona around in his mind. He didn't know why it was so important to him to find out why she had kissed him. It's not like it was the first time they kissed. Though, it seemed different this time. The first time they kissed was when Elaine got overwhelmed at work and didn't want to deal with the fact that she needed help. So she tried to get Alex to sleep with her. The other time was when Alex was pretending to be Elaine's loving boyfriend, Bill Board. She was trying to get Alex to admit that his act was, well… not an act. So she kissed him; trying to get him to say there was something there. This time… _it should have been me that kissed her! _He thought. He was the one who was in the bad frame of mind. It **should **have been him. This just kept getting more and more confusing. He only wished he had the courage to talk to Elaine about it. But clearly she had no interest. Clearly she wanted to forget the matter and move on.

Wrong again.

At least by this point.

Elaine needed to talk to Alex. It was the only way she'd ever be able to move past this. There was no choice; no matter how awkward it might be, they needed to talk about it.


	5. Chapter 5

Elaine decided she'd talk to Alex on the train to their last stop: Vienna. The beginning of the train ride was just how it had been the past few days… silent. Finally Elaine had the courage to speak. She took a deep breath, "Alex? We need to talk."

Alex looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Is something wrong?" he asked, pretending like he didn't know what they needed to talk about.

Elaine rolled her eyes, "You know what we have to talk about."

"I know," he began, "I was just under the impression that you didn't want to talk about it so I didn't want to bring it up."

"Well… I didn't want too. But it's taken over my mind and the only way I'm going to be able to move past it is if we talk about it. I mean I'm probably making way to big a deal of it…"

Alex wanted to say that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it either, but he had to consider how she'd take it. Would that be a good thing to her? Would she be embarrassed? So he decided to play it safe and said, "Well… I wouldn't say you're making a big deal."

"Sure feels like I am."

"Elaine, don't worry about it."

Elaine sighed, "I just don't want you to be… mad at me... for lack of a better word."

"Why would I be mad at you?" he laughed.

"I don't know. I guess because one of the reasons you didn't want to come here was because you didn't want anything to happen between you and me. And I know that's probably not exactly what you meant by that but still." She looked away.

Alex tried not to laugh. "Elaine… at this point I wouldn't even care if anything happened between." He smiled.

Elaine smiled back, "So, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Nothing else was said for the rest of the ride but it was a different kind of silence.

A good kind.


	6. Chapter 6

They finally reached Vienna. Things seemed to be back to normal… almost anyway. Elaine set out to find a date and Alex, of course, stayed at the hotel. The only timed he planned on leaving the hotel room was to meet Elaine for their last postcard writing. Even though they hadn't been really talking they still made it to their set time together.

Alex was watching television when Elaine came in the room. "How do I look?" she asked.

Alex looked at Elaine who was wearing an exquisite white gown. "Oh my goodness…" and said shocked.

"Is that good or bad?" she laughed.

"_Very _good!"

She smiled, "Thanks!" she walked over to the mirror and started to fix her hair. Alex turned off the television and turned to Elaine. "So where are you off too tonight?" he said with a slightly sad tone.

Elaine turned away from the mirror, "To a dinner party. Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

Elaine rolled her eyes and walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Alex. "I feel bad leaving you. You know, I can always cancel my plans. Would you like that?"

"What have I said? I don't want you feeling bad or ruin your fun because of me."

"Alex, staying here isn't going to ruin my fun. It will ruin my fun knowing that you're spending your last night in Europe here all alone… again."

"Elaine, you worry too much."

"I know… But really. I'm going to cancel my plans, then you and I can do something." She stood up and headed to the phone. But Alex quickly rushed to the phone before her, "Elaine, please don't do this."

"What's the matter?" she asked shocked.

Alex sighed, "For starters, what exactly did you have planned?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Grab a bite to eat, walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, just see what's around."

Alex had to think. He was afraid that if he and Elaine did anything it would lead them to a situation they both rather not be in. They had just gotten over their kiss in Barcelona; things seemed to be normal again. He didn't trust himself, and his friendship with Elaine was too great to risk spoiling.

He had to tell her though. "Alright, I'll be honest… in the state I'm in; I don't really trust that… I wouldn't, uh… I mean, I'm too afraid that I'd maybe do something that might, you know-"

"Spoil our friendship?" interrupted Elaine with a grin.

"Yeah, that."

"I see." She paused. She felt she should add something but she wasn't sure what. Frankly, she didn't trust herself either. "Well then… I guess I'll be going."

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

She smiled and shook her head, "You don't have to apologize. I'm sorry that you've had a rotten trip." She opened the door and started to leave but Alex pulled her back. "Elaine, Elaine… you really don't need to feel bad. Yeah, you asked me to come along but it was my choice. It isn't your fault, it's just bad luck I guess. But hey, it's not like it's been a total drag. There were good moments. I got to see history, culture, and I had fun writing postcards with you. So stop thinking that I've been all alone being tormented." He winked.

Elaine laughed, "Alright, alright. I guess I'll see you later then."

Alex nodded gently pushed Elaine out the door and shut it behind her. He then sat himself back on the couch to return to his television watching. Elaine started to walk towards the elevator. As much as she wanted too, she knew putting Alex out of her mind wasn't going to happen any time soon. She couldn't figure out why her feelings had returned. _Maybe they never left. _She thought, _maybe he's the reason that I can't stay in a long term relationship. Maybe I'm doing something that makes the men I get involved with back off; or maybe they can just sense it. _She started to head back to the room but stopped. _What am I going to do or say if I go back in there? 'Hey Alex, changed my mind. I'm not gonna go out tonight because I'm in love with you.' …actually, if I did say- no, no! I'm being crazy. I should just go out and get some air. _She decided that a long walk would be just the thing to help clear her head.

* * *

The phone rang.

"Hello?" Alex answered.

"Hi, is Elaine Nardo there?" asked a man on the other end.

"No, sorry, you just missed her."

"Oh… well do you know where I can reach her?"

"She mentioned something about a dinner party, but she didn't say where it was."

"Oh, well I'm the person who Elaine was going to be attending the party with but my wife came back home suddenly from a trip so I need to make sure Elaine doesn't show up."

Alex was very stunned, _a married man? That is not like Elaine at all… _"I'm sorry. I don't know of any way to reach her."

The man said something German and angrily hung up. Alex rolled his eyes. He was very puzzled by Elaine's choice in a date. True, people tend to loosen up on vacation, but a married man? Elaine felt very strongly about not getting involved with anyone who's married seeing as her ex-husband had cheated on her. Unless, she didn't know he was married. But then why would he be calling to tell her. Though, in light of the circumstance it's not an absurd idea. He shook his head. _It's none of my business… _he thought. One thing was for sure, it was sure going to be hard not to ask her about it.

* * *

NOTE- I'm actually not sure why Elaine and her ex-husband divorced. It never really said in the show (from what I know) though I vaguely remember hearing or reading somewhere that he left her after paying his way through school. Oh well, either way, in this story he cheated. -markaleen


	7. Chapter 7

About two hours later Elaine quietly came back to the hotel room. Not as quietly as she had hoped though. Alex, who had been lying down on the couch, sat up and watched Elaine and she quietly shut the door behind her. "You're home early."

Elaine jumped, "Oh, yeah… well it was a- uh… one of those short dinner parties."

Alex laughed, "One of those 'short dinner parties'?"

"Yeah…"

He stood up, "So tell me, how was it?" he asked knowing that she hadn't gone.

Elaine stammered a bit, "It went, uh, well. I guess."

"Oh really? Doesn't sound like it." He persisted, seeing how long it would take her to admit she hadn't gone. He figured that if she had gone to the party that the man who called the hotel would have sent her away. Now things were getting extremely confusing. Why would she be saying she went?

"Well, I mean… I've had better times at parties before, but it wasn't bad." She began heading over to her adjoining room, but Alex stopped her, wanting to continue his quest to find out what was going on. "So what kind of food did they serve?" he asked.

Elaine bit her lip, "What kind of food?" she repeated then continued, "Um, it was… Viennese."

"I figured it would be." Finally he decided to tell her, "Elaine, your date called right after you left canceling. He said his **wife **was back in town and that he didn't want you to show up at the party."

Elaine's eyes grew wide and then she froze for a moment before she spoke, "He did?" She quietly inquired.

Alex nodded, "He did."

Elaine turned red as she sat down as she sighed, "Alright, I'll confess. I didn't go."

Alex sat down next to her. "Where have you been for the past couple hours?"

"I've just been walking around." She answered meekly.

"All by yourself?" Alex asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah…"

"Elaine, is there something bothering you?"

Elaine shook her head, "No, I guess I'm just tired. This has been quite the vacation."

"It sure has been." Alex agreed. They were silent for a few seconds before Alex asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" she asked curiously.

"I know it's none of my business but… did you know he was married? I only ask because I know how you feel about that."

Elaine thought a moment before she answered. She had known that her date was married, but she just wanted to make sure that she had plans—well a distraction. That's why she said yes despite her feelings towards going out with someone who was married. She was going to lie and say that she didn't, but Alex seemed to have this way of knowing instantly when she was lying. Or maybe she just wasn't as good of a liar as she thought. She took a deep breath and admitted shamefully, "Yes… I knew."

Alex gasped, "You did? What happened to your rule?" he asked very curiously.

She shook her head, "It was ignored."

"How come?" he began to feel like he was prying. He was prying, but now he was starting to feel bad about it.

Elaine didn't know how to answer. She wanted more than anything to tell Alex how she was really feeling. Part of the reason she didn't want to tell him now was because he was vulnerable seeing as his trip hadn't gone how he planned and she didn't want him to think she was taking advantage of him. But on the other hand she didn't know how else to answer. "Elaine?" Alex said after Elaine hadn't replied. She looked at him and knew that what she needed to say couldn't be put off another moment.


	8. Chapter 8

"Okay Alex…" Elaine began, "I'm going to tell you the truth. But before I do just let me say that none of this was ever my intention and I hope you aren't mad at me for what I'm about to say."

Alex took her hand, "Elaine, I won't be mad at you. I **want **you to be honest with me."

Elaine closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, and then looked straight into Alex's eyes. "When I kissed you that night in Barcelona… how do I put this? Well… at the time I really wasn't thinking, but I realized after that the reason I kissed you was because everything I've felt for you over the past few years suddenly came rushing to me and given the time my sense was gone and I guess I just felt so bad and… well anyway… I thought I had put those feelings behind me. I really did. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked you on this trip. Or maybe I would have… I don't know. All I know is that since that night I've been trying so hard to get over you again. I was able to at first but as time went on I just couldn't get you out of my mind. I considered telling you before now but I just didn't want you to think that I was taking advantage of you or something. I'm really sorry. I'm sure with time I'll be able to get over this again, I just really hope that nothing is awkward between you and I."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle, "So that's what's been going on, huh?" Elaine blushed and looked away shyly. Alex guided her head so she was facing him again and said, "Would you feel better if I told you that I've had the same troubles too?"

She smiled slightly, "Maybe."

Alex went on, "Why do you think I was so hesitant about coming? I didn't trust myself."

"Is that why you've been staying in the hotels the entire time?" Elaine couldn't help but wonder.

Alex sighed, "No, that was just horrible luck." He laughed and Elaine reciprocated. Neither of them knew what to say next, they just continued to look at each other with smiles on their faces. Part of them didn't want anything else to be said because they were both afraid that the other would say that nothing could ever happen between them. But looks and smiles could only last for so long. Eventually Elaine spoke up and said, "So… where does this leave us?"

"I'm not sure." He answered.

"Me either… I guess part of me is worried that if anything were to happen tonight, that when we get back to New York we'll realize what a mistake we've made."

Alex nodded in agreement, "I was thinking the same thing."

Silence filled the room once again as they both thought of what to say next.

"You know Alex… this is actually good timing."

"It is?" he asked with a confused expression.

"Yeah, think about it. It's our last night in a foreign country far away from home, there's no risk of anybody finding out… maybe you and I can use tonight to try and sort out our feelings. When we get back to New York, we'll have clearer minds and we can then decide what to do. That way if we decide being just friends is best, then we can do so easier."

His eyes lit up at the idea, "I hadn't thought about it that way…"

"So, what do you say?" she asked meekly.

Alex smiled, saying nothing- he just pulled Elaine towards him gently and kissed her.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day they packed up their belongings and headed to the airport. Neither of them could stop smiling. Last night felt so right to the both of them; but both were afraid to tell the other. In case the other thought it'd be best to remain just friends. Besides, it would be a long flight back to New York: why spoil the bliss now?

They arrived home in New York where Tony was waiting to pick them up. He greeted them with a big hug, "You're finally back! How was the trip?" he asked enthusiastically.

Alex and Elaine glanced at each other and smiled. They knew that their night together would be a secret, especially if they were going to remain just friends. Elaine then replied, "It was amazing."

On the way home, Alex and Elaine told Tony about all the different places they went (though Elaine was doing most of the talking). When they arrived at Elaine's apartment Alex insisted that he'd help Elaine with her bags and that Tony wait in the car. Tony wasn't quite sure why- didn't they just spend four weeks together? He didn't give it too much thought though.

After they got Elaine's luggage in, they knew that it was time to decide where their relationship stood. Elaine took a deep breath and began, "So… how are we?" she asked timidly.

Alex grinned at Elaine's shyness. It wasn't necessarily like her. "What do you think?" he replied.

She so desperately wanted to throw her arms around Alex and tell him that she wanted to give 'them' a try; but she was terrified that he would feel differently. "I think…" she finally started, "that you should decide."

"Me?" he questioned, "umm…" _Why does she want me to decide? _He thought. _Is this her way of telling me that our night should be a one-time thing? Or does she want to pursue a relationship and she's too afraid to say so? _The silence grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. Finally, Alex decided to go with the most logical decision. "Elaine… I think that maybe…" he paused, "maybe it's best for us to be just friends."

Elaine's heart sank- and she was afraid that Alex would notice. Somehow, she managed to say, "Yeah… you're right." And he **was **right. They **did **have a good friendship. And it had to be good if they were able to go through something like this. Then Elaine thought, _if I can't be honest with him now it will only lead to trouble somewhere down the line. _Though, another part of her argued,_ But… would telling him that I want to be more than friends cause even more trouble? Won't it be safer to just leave well enough alone? But I can't very well go on with feelings like this… _Every thought made her grow more confused and frustrated. Usually when this happened she'd go to Alex for help. _Maybe doing this wasn't the best idea. _Alex must have sensed Elaine's conflict because her thoughts were interrupted by him uncomfortably saying, "Well-uh… it's been a long trip- I should be going." He started heading out the door, when he reached it he turned to Elaine, "Thank you for everything." He concluded with a smile.

Elaine managed to reciprocate the smile and said, "Thank you for coming with me." With that, Alex left. Leaving her standing in the middle of her living room- still trying to process everything that had happened. _That's that. _She eventually admitted to herself as she sat down.

Alex slowly walked back to the cab where Tony was still waiting. _That was probably your last chance to tell her how you feel… _he told himself. When he finally reached the cab he tried to act as if nothing were bothering him. Tony asked as Alex got into the car, "Okay Alex, now that Elaine's gone, I gotta ask. How were those European woman?!"

He wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't **know **the answer. But he couldn't let Tony know about him and Elaine. "Wonderful… absolutely wonderful." He answered after a few seconds. He asked **how **they were, not **who **they were. Or she was. So Elaine wasn't "European"; he didn't need to know.

As Tony continued to ask Alex questions about the trip (which Alex continued to answer as vaguely as possible), Alex could not get Elaine off his mind. _She didn't seem particularly relieved with my choice. I know her and I know that if she had been thinking that we should just be friends she would have said so. So that must mean…_


	10. Chapter 10

"Tony, we have to go back to Elaine's."

Tony looked at Alex with confusion, "Go back? Why?"

Alex had to think fast. "Because… I forgot to pay back some money I borrowed."

"Won't you see her at the garage?" Tony questioned.

"Yeah… but uh," he stuttered, "she made me promise I'd pay her back as soon as we got back to New York."

"Okay… but don't you need to stop at the bank first?"

"Uh… sure. Yeah that would make sense."

So Tony stopped at a bank and Alex went in and pretended to take some money out. Tony could not figure out what was going on with Alex. He had never seen him act so… un-Alex like. He tried to find out what was going on on the way back to Elaine's but he wasn't saying anything about it.

* * *

Elaine heard a knock on the door. She figured it was her ex-husband with her kids, even though they weren't due back until tomorrow. She was very surprised when she opened the door and saw Alex standing before her. "Alex, what are you doing here?"

"I've been doing some thinking," he started, "what did **you **want to do?"

"Huh?"

"What did **you **want to do about us?"

"Why?" she asked nervously.

Just as nervously , he answered, "Because, you didn't seem particularly relieved when I said we should just be friends- and I know that if you had been wanting to be just friends you would have said so."

Elaine sat down on the couch as she sighed, "Alright, I'll be honest… I was kind of hoping that we could… be more than friends."

Alex sat down next to her, "Well why didn't you say something?"

"I was too afraid that you'd feel differently." she timidly answered. "And you did."

"I'll be honest with you as well; I was afraid to say that **I **wanted to be more than friends. I mean, logically we should just have things remain the same but…" he then smiled and stroked her cheek, "I'm tired of always following what my head tells me to do."

Elaine placed her hand on Alex's, "So am I." she smiled and kissed him.

Meanwhile, Tony was still waiting for Alex in the car. _What is taking him so long? _he thought. He decided to go see what was keeping him.

Elaine's door was unlocked so Tony opened it and walked in while saying, "Come on Alex, how long does it take to give-" he stopped when he saw Alex and Elaine kissing. "Whoa!"

Both Elaine and Alex looked at him, and then at each other and laughed. "Maybe we should explain."

Elaine then grabbed Alex's arm. She gave him a look that he knew meant that she didn't want anyone to know what had happened between them in Europe. Alex nodded knowingly and in agreement. Tony said, with the surprised tone still in his voice, That would be nice."

Without taking his eyes off of Elaine he said, "Apparently spending four weeks together in Europe finally got to us."

Tony smiled at the sight of his two friends. They both looked happier than he had ever seen them before. Still, he sensed that there was more to the story than they were leading on. But he'd save that for another day- he didn't want to interrupt any more than he already had. "See you two later." he said as he left the apartment; not that Elaine and Alex noticed. They were both too busy thinking about all of the great things their future had in store for them.

"_**When will you realize, Vienna waits for you…"**_

The End.


End file.
